Working too long, fighting too hard to notice: how the GOP can win voters they robbed and cheated

[Trotsky]

"They don't care what color their slaves are, black or white. Slaves is slaves to them. Work ya into you die. And then who gives a damn, when you're no longer useful."



This is more than 20 years old, but still so incredibly relevant, and I was reminded of this painful documentary tonight. Thousands of union coal miners, some of whom were paralyzed and most of which were gravely ill from coal-related illnesses, had their pensions stolen from them and their livelihoods robbed, by the Reagan-era Republicans, who militarized police to suppress these working men and women's fight for their hard-earned livelihoods. And against them fought thousands of union workers, who selflessly committed themselves to fighting for the benefits of retirees: not for themselves, but for the rights of their compatriots.

These Republicans (like the current Republicans) passed right-to-work laws and sided with big business in busting unions, crushing workers fighting for their healthcare and pensions, and ultimately convinced lower class workers in areas like Appalachia that it wasn't the Republicans and big business that had robbed them, but instead liberals and foreign workers. Millions and millions of dollars pumped into politicians and lawyers to distort this brutal, bloody robbery, and then turning the victims against the parties fighting for them.

And NOW, the Republican Party has won Appalachian voters by promising to bring back an industry of workers that they screwed and bludgeoned to death.

https://www.appalshop.org/store/appalshop-films/justice-in-the-coalfields/



Patriots, Americans, workers - it is still the same today: Republicans only care about big business and the ultra-rich. Not religion. Not tradition. Not immigration. Not race. That is only to leverage against the common people this type of brutal exploitation for their own profit.

 

[K1levelgrappler]

Dying of black lung to trigger the libs

 

[Andy Capp]

This is more than 20 years old, but still so incredibly relevant, and I was reminded of this painful documentary tonight. Thousands of union coal miners, some of whom were paralyzed and most of which were gravely ill from coal-related illnesses, had their pensions stolen from them and their livelihoods robbed, by the Reagan-era Republicans, who militarized police to suppress these working men and women's fight for their hard-earned livelihoods. And against them fought thousands of union workers, who selflessly committed themselves to fighting for the benefits of retirees: not for themselves, but for the rights of their compatriots.

These Republicans (like the current Republicans) passed right-to-work laws and sided with big business in busting unions, crushing workers fighting for their healthcare and pensions, and ultimately convinced lower class workers in areas like Appalachia that it wasn't the Republicans and big business that had robbed them, but instead liberals and foreign workers. Millions and millions of dollars pumped into politicians and lawyers to distort this brutal, bloody robbery, and then turning the victims against the parties fighting for them.

And NOW, the Republican Party has won Appalachian voters by promising to bring back an industry of workers that they screwed and bludgeoned to death.

https://www.appalshop.org/store/appalshop-films/justice-in-the-coalfields/



Patriots, Americans, workers - it is still the same today: Republicans only care about big business and the ultra-rich. Not religion. Not tradition. Not immigration. Not race. That is only to leverage against the common people this type of brutal exploitation for their own profit.

Now tell me something I don't know.

 

[Throttlehead]

Once you have achieved the divide so solidly, you can get away with anything.

 

[Trotsky]

Also relevant to the plight of white working class America, that was flayed and used by the rich and their political Republican whores:

 

[HIMBOB]

I blame television.

As soon as anti union forces had the profit motive and ability to tell working people unions are bad, the fate of the worker was sealed.

 

[Mark Hunts FIST]

Just a bunch of privileged white people

 

[Denter]

"They don't care what color their slaves are, black or white. Slaves is slaves to them. Work ya into you die. And then who gives a damn, when you're no longer useful."



This is more than 20 years old, but still so incredibly relevant, and I was reminded of this painful documentary tonight. Thousands of union coal miners, some of whom were paralyzed and most of which were gravely ill from coal-related illnesses, had their pensions stolen from them and their livelihoods robbed, by the Reagan-era Republicans, who militarized police to suppress these working men and women's fight for their hard-earned livelihoods. And against them fought thousands of union workers, who selflessly committed themselves to fighting for the benefits of retirees: not for themselves, but for the rights of their compatriots.

These Republicans (like the current Republicans) passed right-to-work laws and sided with big business in busting unions, crushing workers fighting for their healthcare and pensions, and ultimately convinced lower class workers in areas like Appalachia that it wasn't the Republicans and big business that had robbed them, but instead liberals and foreign workers. Millions and millions of dollars pumped into politicians and lawyers to distort this brutal, bloody robbery, and then turning the victims against the parties fighting for them.

And NOW, the Republican Party has won Appalachian voters by promising to bring back an industry of workers that they screwed and bludgeoned to death.

https://www.appalshop.org/store/appalshop-films/justice-in-the-coalfields/



Patriots, Americans, workers - it is still the same today: Republicans only care about big business and the ultra-rich. Not religion. Not tradition. Not immigration. Not race. That is only to leverage against the common people this type of brutal exploitation for their own profit.

Makes you wonder how the working class party became stupid enough to start adopting cultural and social issues that alienated the white working class.

 

[panamaican]

This has been the model for decades and it still surprises me how effective it is. I know that the GOP accuses the Dems of politicizing identity groups (and they do to a degree) but it's just fascinating that the GOP does the same thing to create foil that they can use to rally individuals to vote in a way that harms the individual.

An example that amuses me: Foreigners are stealing American jobs and depressing American wages. Vote for us so that we can facilitate sending the jobs to foreign countries, instead of having the foreigners come here.

 

[Denter]

This has been the model for decades and it still surprises me how effective it is. I know that the GOP accuses the Dems of politicizing identity groups (and they do to a degree) but it's just fascinating that the GOP does the same thing to create foil that they can use to rally individuals to vote in a way that harms the individual.

An example that amuses me: Foreigners are stealing American jobs and depressing American wages. Vote for us so that we can facilitate sending the jobs to foreign countries, instead of having the foreigners come here.

To be totally fair, in the Trump era I've encountered many people who rail against outsourcing and immigration both.

Whether or not this populist faction can overcome decades of Republican free trade inertia remains to be seen.

 

[Jack V Savage]

Makes you wonder how the working class party became stupid enough to start adopting cultural and social issues that alienated the white working class.

Labor can't win if it's divided so there is a natural connection between pro-labor policies and support for racial equality.

 

[Quequeg]

Non millionaire right wingers are truly brainwashed and will never wake up and stop voting against their interests.

 

[Possum Jenkins]

Dying of black lung to trigger the libs

Dying of black lung but did you see those vegans crying when Hillary lost the election?

1000% worth it. Would elect again.

 

[Possum Jenkins]

Makes you wonder how the working class party became stupid enough to start adopting cultural and social issues that alienated the white working class.

Real easy. Working class = largely manual workers, usually not professional, usually not high earners.

People that work these kinds of jobs and earn this sort of pay are largely nonwhite. These nonwhite people also have social and cultural issues that are important to them. So the working class party, like any political party, has to respond to the needs of its constituents.

 

[panamaican]

Real easy. Working class = largely manual workers, usually not professional, usually not high earners.

People that work these kinds of jobs and earn this sort of pay are largely nonwhite. These nonwhite people also have social and cultural issues that are important to them. So the working class party, like any political party, has to respond to the needs of its constituents.

Basically. It's probably the greatest snow job in politics, the convincing of the white working class that they are the only working class. So the GOP has been able to convince the white working class that issues that benefit other groups aren't really "working class issues".

 

[Possum Jenkins]

Basically. It's probably the greatest snow job in politics, the convincing of the white working class that they are the only working class. So the GOP has been able to convince the white working class that issues that benefit other groups aren't really "working class issues".

It's really astonishing.

They manage to get them to ignore policy completely and concentrate solely on identity. The other side has rich, vegan urbanites going to coffee shops and black and brown people. Who cares what their policy proposals are, you have to back the guys that are NOT like them.

 

[panamaican]

It's really astonishing.

They manage to get them to ignore policy completely and concentrate solely on identity. The other side has rich, vegan urbanites going to coffee shops and black and brown people. Who cares what their policy proposals are, you have to back the guys that are NOT like them.

You hit the nail on the head and it makes the allegations about leftist identity politics so strange.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

I blame the media for reporting facts I don't like and call it fake news because I have no respect for the intelligence of the fools who voted for me on my promise to clean up DC.

 

[D3thr0n3d K1ng]

The oligarchs in murka have been doing stuff like this since Bacon's rebellion.

'hey poor whites! We got the same skin color! Vote for our agenda to screw over the blacks!!!(and yourselves in the process)

 

[Denter]

Basically. It's probably the greatest snow job in politics, the convincing of the white working class that they are the only working class. So the GOP has been able to convince the white working class that issues that benefit other groups aren't really "working class issues".

I disagree that colored people were the majority of the working class when all this stuff got started (1980s). In fact, I know they weren't. It was a left-libertarian move by the democrats, and a strange one at that, as many social-catholic parties in europe still supported family values and the working man